Reintroductions & Translocations Continue to be an important tool in wildlife management

Wildlife Reintroductions Does habitat remain? –How much? –Connected? –Management? –Competition / Predation / Diseases

Wildlife Reintroductions Viable Population? –PVA VORTEX RAMAS

Wildlife Reintroductions Viable Population? –PVA VORTEX RAMAS Incorporate GIS

Wildlife Reintroductions Genetic Considerations – Why should you care? –Genetic swamping?

Genetic Considerations: Why Should You Care? Genetic variation is the underlying basis for adaptation to future environmental change Loss of genetic variation is often a direct consequence of species reintroduction Understanding how genetic loss occurs can help to prevent management actions that decrease the genetic diversity of reintroduced wildlife species

Wildlife Reintroductions Genetic Considerations –Inbreeding –Did we release highly related individuals?

Wildlife Reintroductions Genetic Considerations –Founder Effect

Founder Effect The reduction in overall genetic diversity experienced as a consequence of population establishment from a limited sample of individuals –Most reintroductions and natural colonization events exhibit Founder Effects –The magnitude of the effect depends upon the number of animals translocated or colonizing an area

Wildlife Reintroductions Genetic Considerations –Genetic Bottleneck

Bottleneck An event in which a population drops significantly in size and then recovers Events such as habitat loss, over harvest, or reintroduction can create bottlenecks and the magnitude of the effect on genetic diversity depends upon: –Number of individuals at lowest point –Length of time population remains depressed

Genetic Drift Random fluctuations in gene frequencies due to temporal variance in survival and reproduction –Small populations drift more rapidly than large ones –Higher reproductive and survival rates can slow the rate of genetic drift –Genetic drift can result in loss of genetic diversity as well as increases in the frequency of rare alleles

Inbreeding Mating of closely related individuals Anytime genes that are alike by descent (i.e., from a shared ancestor) come together within individuals –Enhanced by slow population growth rates –Affected by mating system –Influenced by the relatedness of the initial population founders (e.g. reintroductions)

Hypothetical Source Population Different Colors Represent Copies of Different Genes

Loss of Alleles Due to Original Sampling Event Trap and Transplant Small Samples From Source Incomplete Sampling of Genes Sampling of Related Groups Reintroduced Population

Loss of Alleles Due to Post-Release Stochastic Processes Founder Effects Differential Survival of Founders Differential Survival of Offspring Differential Reproductive Contributions

Genetic Drift Inbreeding Loss of Alleles Due to Stochastic And Deterministic Processes Over Generations Inefficient Transfer of Genes Unequal Reproductive Contributions Differential Survival Mating of Closely Related Individuals Generation Bottleneck

Genetic Drift Inbreeding Loss of Allelic Diversity Apparent 20 Generation Bottleneck 20

Genetic Drift Inbreeding Loss of Allelic Diversity Dramatic Common Allele Predominant 30 Generation Bottleneck 30 Loss of Allelic Diversity Dramatic Rare Allele Predominant

Wildlife Reintroductions Genetic Considerations –Marten reintroductions